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العربية Arabic
Family	Sub-family	Language of	Script
Afro-Asiatic	Central Semitic	Saudi Arabia, Syria, and 23 other countries. United Nations	عربي Arabic

Definite Nouns

A noun is a name of a place, person or thing. Nouns are either definite or indefinite. In Arabic, definite nouns are indicated by the definite articles "al" (الـ). We call this مُعَرَّف بِأل. Ex. الـطاولة (the table) الـقلم (the pen) الـكتاب (the book).

Names of places and people are also considered definite nouns. In Arabic, this is called العَلَم. Ex. مصر (Egypt) أحمد (Ahmed).

المُعَرَّف بِالإضَافة is also a form of definiteness in Arabic. This means that when you have a genitive case, such as "Ahmed's book," this is no longer just a random book. It's Ahmed's. So, we know specifically which book we are talking about. The genitive is constructed by two nouns. One being indefinite, and the other being definite. But because the indefinite here is being defined by a definite, it turns into a definite itself. Ex. كتاب أحمد (Ahmed's book), قلم الطالب (the student's pen).

The vocative is another form of definiteness. When you call something, you are calling something specific. Ex. يا !أستاذ yā ’ustāḏu (O teacher!)

Nouns in the construct state take the case without nunation. Ex. كتاب ولد kitābu waladin (a book of a child), قلمه qalamuhu (his book).

Note that nouns in the constuct state are always definite. Ex. طولتها الهمراء ṭawilatuhā l-hamrā’u (her red table). The word "red" need to bear the article.

Indefinite Nouns (النكرة)

When you come a cross a noun that is none of the above, then it is in either the indefinite or the construct state. There is no such "indefinite article".

Indefinite nouns take nunation: Ex. كتابkitābũ "a book", قلمqalamũ "a pen", طاولةṭawilatũ "a table".

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